HURRICANE CENTER LIVE: Harvey downgraded to tropical storm

by SBG San Antonio

The roof of a gas station sits in flood waters in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Aransas Pass, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Update at 3:45 p.m.: Several school districts including Goliad ISD, Gonzales ISD, Nixon-Smiley ISD, Poteet ISD and Runge ISD have announced school closures for Monday, August 28.

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UPDATE at 3 p.m. on 8/26: City of Kenedy is under a boil water notice until further notice.

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UPDATE 2:15PM: A Coast Guard official says helicopters rescued 18 people from boats and barges that were in distress because of Harvey. Capt. Tony Hahn, commander of the Corpus Christi sector, said Saturday that the two helicopters managed to rescue the people when it became safe enough to do so. He says they retrieved three people from a fishing boat, four from a barge and 11 from two tugboats. He says several boats sank in the Port of Corpus Christi and there will be a lot of work to do before it can reopen. Hahn also says that since Corpus Christi is the third largest petrochemical port in the nation, there is the potential for chemical and crude oil spills, so they'll be watching for that. He says the Port of Brownsville reopened Saturday morning and they haven't yet been able to assess the Port of Victoria.

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UPDATE 2:12PM: The White House says President Donald Trump has met with his Cabinet and other senior administration officials to discuss the federal response to the flooding and damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. It issued a statement Saturday saying that Trump held a video conference from Camp David in which he instructed the relevant departments and agencies to "stay fully engaged and positioned to support his number one priority of saving lives." It says Trump also reminded his department heads that the full impact of the storm won't be apparent for days, as residents of Texas and Louisiana recover from the heavy flooding and wind damage.

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UPDATE at 2 p.m.: One fatality reported in the city of Rockport.

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UPDATE at 1:30 p.m.: City of Corpus Christi says some evacuees may return home, but city leaders warn the area remains under a water boil advisory & limited wastewater usage due to outages at treatment plants.

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UPDATE at 1:45 p.m.: CPS Energy reports more than 200 outages across San Antonio; More than 11K customers affected.

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UPDATE at 12:50 p.m.: Harvey has been downgraded to a tropical storm.

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UPDATE at 12:30 p.m.: Awaiting update from Texas Governor Greg Abbott, to be followed by press conference at San Antonio Emergency Operations Center.

UPDATE at 11:45 a.m.: CPS Energy reports nearly 8,000 customers without power in various areas around Bexar County.

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UPDATE 11AM: Texas officials say they are evacuating about 4,500 inmates from three state prisons in Brazoria County south of Houston because the nearby Brazos River is rising from Hurricane Harvey's heavy rain. The Department of Criminal Justice says inmates from the Ramsey, Terrell, and Stringfellow Units in Rosharon are being taken by bus to other prisons in east Texas. Additional food and water has been delivered to the prisons receiving the displaced inmates.

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UPDATE 10:50AM: The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Harvey's maximum sustained winds have decreased to about 75 mph (120 kph) and that the storm is now centered about 25 miles west of Victoria, Texas. The center says in its 10 a.m. update that the storm is expected to weaken over the next 48 hours and to become a tropical storm by Saturday afternoon. The storm is moving north at 2 mph (3 kph). The hurricane center says that although the winds are weakening, the storm could cause catastrophic flooding over the coming days. Harvey came ashore in Texas on Friday night as the strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade.

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UPDATE 10:50AM: The Coast Guard has sent two helicopters to try to rescue the crews of three tugboats in distress near the Lydia Ann Channel near Port Aransas, Texas. The Coast Guard at Corpus Christi says it received a mayday notification Saturday from crew members aboard the Belle Chase, Sandy Point and Sabine Pass. Two MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrews have been sent to rescue the crews.

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UPDATE at 10:20 a.m.: Guadalupe County has issued a voluntary evacuation for areas along the Guadalupe River, San Marcos River, Cibolo Creek and Geronimo Creek.

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UPDATE at 9:40 a.m.: Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar urges everyone in Bexar County to stay off the roads.

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UPDATE at 9:20 a.m.: Mayor Ron Nirenberg called on San Antonians to avoid the roadways over the weekend as Harvey continued to dump rain across the city. He also asked for able-bodied residents to check on their elderly neighbors and family members to ensure they're safe during the weather event.

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UPDATE at 8:45 a.m.: CPS Energy reporting more than 2,100 customers without power in San Antonio.

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UPDATE at 8:30 a.m.: The American Red Cross tweeted the office is currently open at 3642 East Houston and ready to register shelter volunteers.

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UPDATE at 8 a.m.: CPS Energy reporting about 1,300 customers without power across San Antonio. Outages are sporadic, but many are located along Southeast and North sides of town.